A Romantic Stroll
by Ellana-san
Summary: "Oh, hush." she chuckled, lightly whacking his stomach. "I want you to go outside with me. We could take a stroll in the woods. It would be so romantic." He lifted sarcastic eyebrows. "Yeah, 'cause I'm so big on romance…" / Hayffismas Week 2017 Day 5: Let it Snow


Day 5 : Let It Snow!

* * *

 **A Romantic Stroll**

Haymitch was trying hard to go back to sleep – a difficult task given how loud Effie was banging cupboards in the kitchen downstairs, made almost impossible by the insistent honking of the geese in the backyard. He persisted though because the sheets were warm and the weather had been so poor this winter that it was hard to leave the bed and face the cold.

The bedroom door creaked and he groaned, preemptively grabbing Effie's pillow and putting it on his head. Once she saw he was awake, she stopped trying to be sneaky and jumped on the bed, jolting him and prompting him to groan again.

"I'm sleeping." he complained.

"It's ten." she pointed out.

"I'm still sleeping." he grumbled. He wasn't sure what she was doing but it felt like _bouncing_. And not the kind of bouncing he liked. "The _fuck_ 's gotten into you?"

"It snowed." she informed him and he could hear the grin in her voice.

"It's been snowing for three days." he retorted.

" _Yes_." she drawled out. "But it _stopped_ snowing and now we can go outside and actually _enjoy_ the snow. It is _so_ pretty, Haymitch! You need to see it! Everything is white…"

"I've seen snow before." he snorted. "Thanks but no thanks." The pillow was stolen from over his head and she pushed him on his back without mercy. He rolled with it but made himself a dead weight, only perking up when she straddled him and settled on his thighs. "Now that's more like it…"

"Oh, _hush_." she chuckled, lightly whacking his stomach. "I want you to go outside with me. We could take a stroll in the woods. It would be _so_ romantic."

He lifted sarcastic eyebrows. "Yeah, 'cause I'm so big on romance…"

She pouted. "Please. It is my first winter in Twelve… It is my first _real_ winter…"

The Capitol and its weird controlled weather… He let out a deep long breath, feeling magnanimous enough to not remind her how freaked she had been when it had started snowing without stop.

"I let you put Christmas decorations all over my house for that." he pointed out. "Can't use the same excuse twice."

And _that_ was putting it _lightly_ , as it was. There was a huge tree in his living-room, mistletoe and pine tree branches everywhere, baubles _everywhere you looked_ …

She flashed him a big bright smile. The happy kind that always made him a bit desperate to keep her _that_ happy at all costs. It was a clever trick in itself, of course, but not as effective as the trail of small kisses she planted along the side of his jaw.

"Please, please, please…" she begged. "Pretty please."

"What are you?" he chuckled despite himself. "Five?" Her lips brushed against his and retreated before coming back for another assault. This time, he stretched his neck and captured them before rolling them over so she was tucked under him. "Now you've done it. I'm up alright."

"Good." she grinned. "Then let's go for a walk."

She pushed him off her and he flopped on his back with a sigh of surrender.

"You're gonna be the death of me one day." he accused.

All he got in answer was laughter.

It didn't take him long to get dressed but he took his sweet time drinking his cup of coffee, amused by the impatient way she was looking through the window over the sink. She _did_ look like a child and it was good to see her so happy and carefree after everything.

He made a note to ask Katniss to check the lake. If the ice was strong enough… He would take Effie ice skating. She would like that, he thought. He hadn't been in _decades_ , before his Reaping when sneaking into the woods had still been a thrill…

There was a deep coat of snow on the porch and he kicked some off unhappily while he buttoned his coat. It was freezing outside.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

He wanted to point out taking a stroll was _her_ idea so she should be the one doing the itinerary but she was entirely too cute with her pink woolen hat and matching scarf and gloves for him to be really grumpy about it.

She had softened him.

She had showed up on his doorstep and had moved in without really asking first and she had softened him.

"Thought you wanted a romantic stroll in the woods?" he scoffed. "That's what you get now. And no complaining you're tired when you remember you hate the outdoors."

She pursed her lips and tilted her head in her patented annoyed look but she still firmly grabbed his hand when he headed toward the woods without waiting to check she was following. He wasn't big on hand holding. He wasn't big on anything public, really. But the streets were deserted and she looked so happy he didn't want to ruin her mood so he held her hand and his tongue.

The woods _were_ pretty covered with snow. He kept to the easier trails, tuning out her constant chatter about local gossip.

At some point though, the sound of her voice started giving him a headache so he pushed her against a tree and shut her up the way he knew best. Kissing outside without having to worry about someone catching them was still somewhat new and he welcomed the thrill of knowing he _could_ do that without impending catastrophe now.

The kissing eventually grew heated and they hastily decided to go back home – mainly because she made it clear she wasn't interested in having sex outside when it was freezing, which was probably a good call.

They didn't make it further than the living-room anyway but they had done it in more uncomfortable places than the rug in front of the fireplace.

"I do not want to move _all_ _day_." she hummed, snatching the throw blanket off the back of the couch to wrap it over them. She settled with her head on his shoulder and he distractedly played with her hair. "I think this is the best part of being snowed in. We have an excuse to be lazy and cuddle all day."

"Hate to break it to you but that's not being snowed in." he mocked. She would find out soon enough, he figured, there was at least one blizzard every winter in Twelve. "And you don't need an excuse for the rest. We can be lazy and cuddle for the rest of our lives, sweetheart."

"The rest of our lives…" she teased. "Be careful, Haymitch, that sounds a lot like a proposal."

He rolled his eyes and tugged a little on the strand coiled around his finger. "Doesn't sound that terrible though, yeah? Growing old together."

"See?" she grinned, propping her chin on his shoulder. "I _should_ take you on romantic strolls more often."

He snorted, cradled the back of her head in his hand and pulled her in for a kiss.


End file.
